It’s mentioned 9 times in The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.
adrian_b · 10d ago
It is mentioned also in several other novels written by Alexandre Dumas, including some where the action happens in the 16th century, by the time of Catherine de' Medici (a time when in reality there have been many allegations that some suspicious deaths have been caused by poisoning).
Therefore in these novels the use of "aqua tofana" is an anachronism, as it precedes by almost a century the time when "aqua tofana" is supposed to have been invented.
scotty79 · 11d ago
Definitely it had its mind share so it was possibly a tad bit overhyped.
fmajid · 9d ago
A good way to accuse a widow of murder by poison, since the poison was undetectable and unfalsifiable by the feeble forensics of the day, and get hold of the inheritance.
cs702 · 11d ago
Great find! Thank you for sharing the OP on HN.
There's no evidence that "Agua Tofana" ever existed, and yet, for centuries, Europeans widely believed it was real, and widely feared it as a colorless, odorless, tasteless, undetectable, gradual-acting poison that could be added to anyone's food. Unscrupulous salespeople, as always, found clever ways to package and sell fake Agua Tofana -- similar to the fake snake-oil sold as "medicine" in the 18th and 19th centuries. The capacity of human beings to believe in things for which there is no evidence never ceases to amaze me.
scotty79 · 11d ago
What a pointless article.
1. That thing happened.
2. Maybe not. It might have been a legend even though some women were punished for this.
3. Maybe misogyny was the worst poison after all that poisoned society and law with suspicion.
It's like it's written by AI prompted with few tidbits of content.
Why not just openly state that most poisoners are still men because men lead in any class of murder (apart form infanticide). No need to perpetuate doubts.
Is 'AI-generated' the term we're using now for content we don't like?
anonym29 · 11d ago
Why draw demographic-shaped boxes around criminals at all? We all know the kinds of thinking this leads to - why encourage it?
scotty79 · 10d ago
Yeah. That would be great if we could stop doing that. Sadly human brain doesn't seem to work that way.
anonym29 · 10d ago
Demographic discrimination may be instinctive, but we are neither wild animals nor pre-programmed automatons incapable of using rationality and reason to modify our behavior to treat others with more kindness than our instincts would guide us to.
I can't tell you how to live your life, but life is better for all us when we avoid demographic-level collective blame, which leads to demographic-level persecution, something I'd hope nobody here wants.
Therefore in these novels the use of "aqua tofana" is an anachronism, as it precedes by almost a century the time when "aqua tofana" is supposed to have been invented.
There's no evidence that "Agua Tofana" ever existed, and yet, for centuries, Europeans widely believed it was real, and widely feared it as a colorless, odorless, tasteless, undetectable, gradual-acting poison that could be added to anyone's food. Unscrupulous salespeople, as always, found clever ways to package and sell fake Agua Tofana -- similar to the fake snake-oil sold as "medicine" in the 18th and 19th centuries. The capacity of human beings to believe in things for which there is no evidence never ceases to amaze me.
1. That thing happened.
2. Maybe not. It might have been a legend even though some women were punished for this.
3. Maybe misogyny was the worst poison after all that poisoned society and law with suspicion.
It's like it's written by AI prompted with few tidbits of content.
Why not just openly state that most poisoners are still men because men lead in any class of murder (apart form infanticide). No need to perpetuate doubts.
https://www.wired.com/2013/01/the-myth-of-the-female-poisone...
I can't tell you how to live your life, but life is better for all us when we avoid demographic-level collective blame, which leads to demographic-level persecution, something I'd hope nobody here wants.